5315 & 5317 - Contribution to Learning
5315 and 5317 were my seventh and eighth classes of the ADL program, my fourth eight-week session. I cannot believe that I have only one session left until I graduate from the ADL program and hold my master’s degree. This program has pushed me outside my comfort zone. I have grown as a learner, and it feels bittersweet that it will be coming to an end so quickly. While I am proud of all I have learned, I feel as though I have many areas I still need to grow and improve. I will carry my experiences from this program throughout the future and have accepted my role as a lifelong learner.
The grades I am giving myself for the classes are as follows:
5315: 95%
5317: 97%
5315:
In 5315, our assignments were:
In this course, I learned more about how to research effectively. I had the idea that research had to be a painful process that was involved and hard to accomplish. This class showed me that action research can be laid out in a way that is not overly complicated and the more you do it, the easier and more natural it becomes. I learned that I am already applying most of the concepts in my work, so it was easier to complete than I thought. I also learned how to find the areas of focus in my innovation plan. I was able to research how blended learning could benefit virtual educators and how incorporating blended opportunities would provide more success during the implementation of my innovation plan.
I chose the score I did for this course based on my contributions scoring in other classes. I feel as though I met all requirements of the course and put in the effort to be engaged and participate fully in discussions and groups. I feel as though I am a helpful member to others in the course and play a supportive role to all enrolled. This is a similar score I gave myself in other courses where I feel my effort was close to the same.
5317:
In 5317, our assignments were:
This course taught me the importance of giving back to the education community. By preparing publications and seeking to have them published, you can share all you have learned and your research with others. I noticed as I went through these courses that I was using so many articles written by other educators and professionals. If they had not taken the time to publish these, then I would not have them at my fingertips to use in my research. I learned that it is part of building a community to learn and grow together. I chose the score I did for 5317 because I saw tremendous growth in myself in this course. I am over the moon excited about the experience that I had with group work and trusting my teammates. This is the first time I have ever had a group project where I allowed myself to relax and trust my team fully. Normally, I would have been worried the entire time that things would not get done or that I had to lead all aspects of the project to be sure it was completed up to standards.
Stephen Lewis and Karin Stateler have been my collaborative group since the first days of the ADL program. We have worked together throughout all classes. They have been the best support team I have ever had. This session was interesting because we all had family issues, vacations, career changes, and more going on during these eight weeks. I learned that when you have the right team, and all members are willing to play an active role, that you feel supported and less stressed. They have both made my experience in the ADL program enjoyable, and by working with them, I have learned that relying on others is worthwhile.
During this course, my father-in-law went into ICU with congestive heart failure. We ended up 3 hours away from home staying at my in-law’s house for a week. It was unexpected, I was exhausted and afraid he would not make it. I was able to trust my team and rely on them for help when I needed it, something I have been hesitant to do in the past. I did not feel the need to push myself beyond my limits but allowed Karin and Stephen to share in the carrying of the project and was able to do the same for them when they needed it also. This was a wonderful experience. Our publication process went smoothly because we all shouldered the burden at different times and filled in for each other as needed. I learned that group work does not have to be difficult and that you can rely on others to create a collaborative group that works together successfully.
Peer Review (Week 6)
Sara Garza and Selina Summers worked with us on peer reviewing each other's publications. They added comments to our publication rough draft for feedforward, and we did the same to theirs titled, "Step Away From Your Copy Machine". I really enjoyed this assignment because we received honest opinions from others reading it for the first time. They made many helpful comments on different areas of our publication that allowed us to make changes to perfect it for our audience. This provided a sense of confidence in our writing and assurance that it would be well-received by the intended audience.
They shared helpful feedforward like:
"This sentence seems like it could go after the explanations of blended learning. I feel like it could be a great transition to the next paragraph."
"...if your innovation plans are similar, should you discuss them all?"
"This is unclear to me. Were you going to say what you call that type of a learning experience?"
These comments were tremendously helpful in understanding what the reader's experience would be before we sought publication. It helped to clear up all misunderstandings and arrange our publication for the best possible consumption. I would love to see more peer reviews like this in the future and plan to incorporate this type of feedforward in my innovation plan. Completing this exercise gave me the opportunity to experiment with methods of collaboration that will be beneficial in the implementation of ePortfolios and provides a way to improve my innovation plan even further.
Key Contributions:
· Checked GroupMe frequently to share in discussions and support classmates
· Provided feedforward on GroupMe and discussion boards
· Reflected on feedforward and revised ePortfolio and projects based on suggestions of classmates and professors
· Attended or watched all class meetings for both 5315/5317
· Voluntarily researched sources outside of course suggestions to share
· Met all deadlines in course calendars for both 5315/5317
· Checked grades and emails and responded to all promptly
· Created Google docs with resources for assignments and shared them with others
· Shared eP and personal info to support new learners in the ADL program
Supporting Contributions:
· Took a shared leadership role in our core group with Karin Stateler and Stephen Lewis
· Reached out to classmates and offered support as needed
· Made an effort to add resources to most DB posts to provide others with supporting evidence and materials
· Reviewed and provided feedforward for links that were shared in larger GroupMe (Mamta, Andrei, Chastity, Kelven, Illeana, Erika, Pedro, Rachel, Jasmin, Andrea, Barry, Karin, Stephen, Danielle, Jackie, Jacob, Veronica, Tyra, Bethany, Dawn, Deena, Jose, Lorena, Rachael)
Areas for Improvement:
· Attend more class meetings live next session
· Add to blogs more frequently
I am pleased with all I have learned these eight weeks. Publications and research plans are two areas I would not consider my strongest, so this session was more difficult for me than others to get into or enjoy. I learned that having a great team and collaborative groups, both large and small, are the keys to success. I found growth in both classes that I believe was due to working in these groups.
For improvement, I would like to attend more live classes and add to my blog more frequently. These are two areas that I did not participate in as regularly as in the previous sessions. While I did watch class videos and keep up to date on all information, I felt I was more engaged and connected to classmates and courses when I was able to attend live sessions. I will make it a priority to adjust my schedule to ensure I can participate in the next session. As for my blog, I did add to it this session, but not as much as I would have liked. In previous sessions, I took time out to blog randomly as I was going through classes. I know that due to circumstances out of my control I was not able to blog as much this time, but I want to be sure I take time to do that in the future. I found it to be very helpful to learning and growth throughout my first few sessions of the ADL program.
5315 and 5317 challenged me to push outside of my comfort zone and delve into areas that I previously may not have enjoyed. I learned that action research can be beneficial and a fun process that improves learning. I plan to use it in the future to guide my innovation plan and work beyond. I also learned the importance of the publication process and how this can be a way to make contributions to the education community. Whether through publications or collaborative work, it is important to rely on others and share ideas. Sharing is caring!
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